Seed of Strength
by Envious Sloth
Summary: [For Day 1 of AerTi Week - Oenomel!] Takes place shortly after the events at the Temple of the Ancients, after Cloud gives the Black Materia to Sephiroth and goes ballistic.


p class="p1"Tifa's been sitting on her own bed, glancing back at the lying figure on the bed a little distance away from hers. Her arms are crossed over her chest, her hands grabbing her arms tightly, almost fearing that if she had an instant where she let go, she would just break apart. Looking back at the unconscious Cloud laying down makes her feel that all the more, but what screams louder than her fear to break was her remorse, which seemed to eat away at every little fiber of her class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"Perhaps the remorse is what will eat away at her first before she falls away into pieces, but she couldn't help. Mere hours ago, she was screaming for Cloud, when he seemed to lose complete control of himself and started attacking Aerith back at the Temple of the Ancients. She was already in complete shock at Cloud completely following their enemy's orders, giving away the Black Materia without a single word, but when he began to panic and lose any sense in him... God. All she can think of is Aerith screaming as she fell to the rocky grounds, the fall was enough to start scratching her up, but the punches that the proclaimed ex-Soldier struck her with just made it even worse. Tifa froze in that moment, hesitating before she could let her voice out of her throat, yelling for Cloud to stop before Barret and the others came rushing to forcefully rip Cloud away from class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"God, she was so... useless in that moment. All Tifa wants to do now is just hide away, not show her face... better yet, run. There's no way she can show her face to Aerith after just watching her get hurt. Helping the brunette back already made Tifa hurt. She was close enough to Aerith, giving her support to walk back to the ship, to see all the bruises and bleeding Aerith had gotten: the dark purple-black coloring on her face and on her arms all mixed in with dark red. Tifa hated that she could've stopped Cloud before Aerith got like this, but Tifa was scared. She just... class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"And now Tifa's just sitting here with all this guilt in her, staring at what she feels is her mistake and waiting to face her other mistake in any moment class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"Then, a click is heard and Tifa turns to see Aerith exiting out of the bathroom, dressed back in her signature pink dress and jacket. Tifa immediately looks at Aerith's face; she knows full well where the bruises and bleeding are after looking at it for a long time on their way back to Gongaga. Still there... but the bleeding has stopped and the skin where the bruises were lost a bit of their discoloration, at class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"Then Tifa's eyes meet Aerith's swirling, curious green eyes, and she almost freezes again, but she pulls her gaze away and turns her head down, with a frown on her class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"Aerith looks over at the sleeping Cloud, before looking back at Tifa. Her eyes soften when they see the sad look at the other girl's face. She walks over to Tifa's bed, but the closer she got, the more Tifa buries her head and turns class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"Even so, she starts, "Tifa, thank you."/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""I... what?" Tifa mutters./p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""You helped me after what Cloud did," Aerith's eyes gaze back at the sleeping blonde before returning to Tifa, who seemed more keen about hiding her class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""I didn't do anything at all," Tifa argues quietly class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"Aerith sits herself down next to Tifa and puts a hand on Tifa's arm, "You yelled at him to stop, and you got everyone to come stop him. Then, you helped me get back. I wouldn't call that nothing."span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""But look at you, Aerith!" Tifa jumps in her seat, turning her head rapidly to Aerith, eyes quickly scanning and taking in all the bleeding and bruising on Aerith's face. "If I didn't just empull/em him away right there then—"/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""Oh, don't worry," Aerith disrupts the worried girl, putting a hand on Tifa's shoulder in attempts to soothe her nerve. "Believe me, I'm much tougher than I look! So I'm fine, Tifa! Really."/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"But Tifa shakes her head, biting her bottom lip and looking away, lost in another thought. She lowers her head and closes her eyes./p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"To that, Aerith just wraps her arms around Tifa's shoulders, but when she embraces the other into a tight hug, she can feel Tifa's body shiver, and it just assures Aerith to keep this woman in her arms. She rests her forehead on Tifa's head before closing her eyes, staying in this embrace and taking in Tifa's small form and her shaking; taking in the sounds of Tifa's sniffling and the feeling of Tifa's head against her class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"And Tifa just didn't understand. Didn't understand a single thing that was happening in this moment. Why was it that Aerith, who just got hurt badly a couple hours ago, can act so calmly now? Why was it that emTifa /emwas the one crying and losing her cool? Why was it that Aerith's the one embracing her and saying that it'll be okay instead of the other way around?/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"It only makes Tifa start crying more in Aerith's arms, but she tries so hard to fight her urge to sob loudly, but with every effort, she would accidentally let out a sound and it would break her apart all the more, causing her to cry louder and louder./p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"And Aerith could hear every little sob that Tifa made. It makes Tifa feel ashamed to be in this woman's arms. There's no way she belonged in this woman's arms — someone so strong... so sweet... so... warm. Someone so unlike class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"But she was proven wrong./p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"Aerith pulls Tifa in more tightly, and all Tifa can feel was a warmth breaking through all the worries: a light breaking through her darkening thoughts. And she reaches out to embrace this warmth, too, the same way it envelops her. And two remain in each other's arms until slowly, gradually, Tifa's crying ceases./p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""It'll be okay, Tifa. I'm fine," Aerith smiles, running her hand through Tifa's long dark class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"And Tifa nods, "Yes... Alright then."span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"And they separate, still holding each other's arms but looking at each other eye to class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"Then Aerith chuckles softly, in the way that melts Tifa's heart every single time she class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""Is something... wrong?" Tifa croaks, her voice hoarse from an exhausting class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""Oh no, it's just..." Aerith brings a hand up to Tifa's face and brushes below Tifa's eyes, "This look definitely doesn't suit you."/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""Oh..." Tifa curtly smiles before looking down at their arms being held together, but Aerith's hand moves to her cheek and pulls Tifa to look her way. And Tifa just looks back at Aerith class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""Just... keep smiling, okay? It'll make me sad if you don't." Aerith admits in a quiet voice, but even in a quiet voice, the wish is filled with such warmth that it makes Tifa's own face grow warm and class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""A-Ah, yeah..." Tifa nods without another word, before adjusting bits of her hair back behind her class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"Happy with Tifa's reply, Aerith smiles brightly and nods, before she gets off the bed stands with her back towards Tifa and arms behind her. She looks up at the class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""If you keep smiling, then I think I'll be alright doing this then." Aerith class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""W-What... do you mean?" Tifa asks, but Aerith doesn't respond. "Aerith?"/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"That's when Aerith turns back to Tifa, her light brown hair spinning around her as she keeps up the smile she's been holding this entire time, "I'm sorry, Tifa."/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""Sorry? What do you mean?" Tifa shakes her head before rising from the bed slowly, cautiously walking towards Aerith, wary of the words Aerith speaks./p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""I'll be going soon. I think... I'm the only one who can stop Sephiroth."span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""The only... one?" Tifa repeats to herself in confusion, but she shakes herself out of her confusion and directs herself to Aerith, "Wait, Aerith, I don't understand."/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""Sephiroth. He's going to bring Meteor down, and I'm the only one who can stop him." Aerith explains sternly./p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""What do you mean? We're all going to go face him together!" Tifa grabs Aerith's arms tightly, but holding onto them, she's shocked. In her arms, there isn't a single sense of fear in the other: there's only... serenity, and in that serenity, she can see Aerith's strength. A strength that no one else can hold but her. The strength that Tifa cherishes all topped with that sweet smile that Tifa loves with her whole class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"Then she lets go of class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""I get it..." Tifa quietly says to Aerith, unable to hold her look towards the other. "I just... I'm just worried sick about you."/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""Like I said, I'm tougher than I look!" Aerith jokes around again, and it makes Tifa chuckle. With a nod from Tifa, Aerith nods back and continues, "But... I should get going now, Tifa. Tell everyone, okay?"/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""I will." Tifa nods./p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""And tell Cloud that it's all right?"/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""I will," Tifa nods again./p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""Good," Aerith sighs in relief, but just a glance in Tifa's direction, she knows the other's troubled./p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""Tifa?"/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""I just..." Tifa rubs at her still puffy red eyes. "Why does it have to be like this?"span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""Tifa..." Aerith sadly calls back to the other before reaching out to hold Tifa's hand, giving a faint smile, "Don't worry. We'll see each other again!"/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""Y-Yeah..." Tifa raises her head from her arm. "Just..."/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"Tifa comes closer to Aerith and plants a kiss on Aerith's pink lips. God, were they so soft. Heavenly. Just as she imagined they were. Just everything about Aerith was so perfect to her, and she just wanted to keep swimming in that sweetness./p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""C-Come back... to us... okay?" Tifa stutters, and when she looks at Aerith, she sees that the other girl is stunned in place but soon enough, Aerith smiles greatly and nods./p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1""I will. I promise," Aerith says with a twinkle in her bright green eyes before she pulls herself away from Tifa, going towards the door of the house, "Then I'll be going now, Tifa."/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"And the two just smile, quietly waving at each other as the door slowly shuts. But in that moment, Tifa just watches and takes in just that moment: that moment of feeling that strength slip from her arms and watching as that sweet smile walks out of the door. Something about it made her feel empty... but at the same time, Tifa felt something grow in her, too. Something that had sparked in her when she felt the other's lips on hers and felt the other's determination in her class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"And she realizes what it was that Aerith had left to her when she walked out that door, with that beautiful, warmth-blooming class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"It was a newly found class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p 


End file.
